HILLCREST BAPTIST CHURCH
PAST OLYMPIC BIBLE PROJECTS
You can look for the Olympic Bible Project teams on TV during the Olympics, but not at the events. They won’t be there. Look on the streets and outside the venues—for their mission, their only purpose, is to put copies of God’s Word in as many hands, from as many countries as possible! Hundreds of American Baptists have given of their time, talents, and treasures to participate in the Olympic Bible Projects as short-term missionaries on a mission field unlike any other. This is one mission effort where the people from all parts of the world come to the missionaries.
Pastor Paul Vance and the Hillcrest Baptist Church have had the awesome privilege of helping to coordinate the Olympic Bible Projects for all of the Olympic Games since 1996. Churches of the American Baptist Association have been involved in Olympic Bible Projects from in the 1980’s. Just since Hillcrest began sponsoring the Olympic Bible Projects, over 250,000 New Testaments and John/Romans have been distributed plus thousands of Salvation Tracts.
1996: “The Word to the World Through Atlanta, Georgia”
Hillcrest Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor Paul Vance felt led of the Holy Spirit in 1995 to distribute God’s Word during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Two million visitors and over ten thousand athletes converged upon this international city for two weeks in July of 1996. Funds were raised to distribute over 63,000 copies of the Bible. Two hundred Missionary Baptists from across the US and Canada distributed NT Bibles in Atlanta. Over 3000 response cards from 40 states and a dozen foreign countries have been returned. More than 1300 professions of faith have been reported as a result of the 1996 project, and many have since completed Bible Correspondence courses.
2000: “Sowing the Seed in Sydney”
Hillcrest Baptist Church also served as the sponsoring church for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Over $80,000 was raised to purchase and distribute 80,000 Olympic Souvenir New Testaments in 8 different languages in Sydney. Responses are still coming in from the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and from the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. As a result of the Sydney Olympics, response cards have been returned from all over the world including Australia, England, Nigeria, Indonesia, Zambia, New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, Solomon Islands, Canada, Figi, and the United States. People are being saved through this project.
2002: “Sowing the Seed in Salt Lake City”
As sponsoring church again in 2002, Hillcrest sent out 12 on our mission team to Salt Lake City, Utah. These faithful workers joined hands and hearts in this greatest of all challenges-- to “Sow the Seed in Salt Lake City.” We prayed for those who “Distributed the Word” and those who “Received the Word.” (Acts 2:41) that their lives might be changed forever! Over 44,000 copies of New Testaments were distributed.
2004: “Giving the Gospel in Greece”
As the eyes of the world focus on teams headed to Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Summer Olympics, the eyes of Hillcrest Baptist Church were focused on our Olympic team--eight members who the Olympic Bible Project—“Giving the Gospel in Greece. Olympic Bible Project participants from all walks of life and all parts of the United States along with local Greek Christians, distributed 55,000 copies of John/Romans and New Testaments in 16 difference languages at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.
2006: “Share ‘IT’ in Italy”
Throughout the centuries, Italy has been a haven for artistic merit, culture enlightenment, and a central figure for Christianity. In 2006 the city of Torino hosted the 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Once again the nation of Italy opened its doors to the artistic elite and to the various cultures of the world. It was in this backdrop that the Olympic Bible Project made great advances in disseminating the Word of God to every part of the globe. Close to 60,000 New Testaments and John/Romans were handed out.
PAST OLYMPIC BIBLE PROJECTS
1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia 63,000 New Testaments and tracts
2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia 80,000 New Testaments and tracts
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah 44,000 New Testaments and tracts
2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece
55,000 New Testaments and John/Romans
plus 180,000 tracts
2006 Winter Olympics in Torino,
Italy 57,000 New Testaments and John/Romans
in 16 languages plus thousands of tracts
Responses are still being received from all over the world from people who were given New Testaments during the Olympics.
In 2004 the Hillcrest Baptist Church in Acworth, Georgia, stepped out on faith to officially make the Olympic Bible Projects a Ministry of Hillcrest Baptist Church.
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